Daily Archives: April 28, 2014

Some real profiles in courage there. But, really, if you do the math, the new scheduling rule isn’t going to have that much impact. There are only three schools on that list that have averaged less than one power conference opponent a season.

Georgia, by the way and to its credit, is the only program on the list to come close to averaging two such games a year. My bet is that average starts coming down, as McGarity picks his spots carefully. Need those softies.

Give Greg McGarity credit for original thinking on one thing. He’s against a nine-game conference schedule, alright. But instead of making up the standard flimsy excuse about how it’s for the fans’ sake, he’s thinking of somebody else.

“What does it say if [the players] have to be at their very best for nine conference games a year, plus a 10th (rivalry) game. I think some kids would love to say, ‘Let’s start out with a softy.’”

‘Let’s start out with a softy.’? They’re not getting that now!

But, hey, Greg, if you’re worried about what the players want, I’m sure they’d be happy to give you a list with some other items to add to your agenda.

I think people have taken Spurrier’s comment last week about Tennessee wanting to keep the rivalry game with Alabama out of context. It’s not so much a shot at UT as it is wondering why the Vols wouldn’t want to have more of a scheduling mix with weaker programs in the West.

Speaking of the Great Scheduling Compromise, Nick Saban called it a week ago: “I think there’s a little bit more support for staying with an eight-game schedule and everybody playing a ninth opponent that’s in the five major conferences.”

Now it’s the NFL that’s got a top official willing to consider a developmental league.

Quarterbacks coach Terry Shea, who ran Aaron Murray’s Pro Day and helped Griffin, Sam Bradford and Matt Stafford prepare for their drafts, thinks Murray most closely compares to Stafford: “But Aaron can drive the ball, and he might even be more advanced than Matthew was because he’s had four years of great SEC football…”

On a more serious note from that Lorenzo Carter interview, you have to wonder what the coaches are telling the kids in Athens if they’re this blunt about it with the ones who haven’t stepped on campus yet:

What expectations do UGA’s coaches have for you this season? “They tell me I need to be ready to play. I need to get into shape. I think that’s a big problem up there right now, trying to get the players in shape so they can play fast for a long period of time. That’s what they let me know: That I’ve got to be ready to play fast.”

For once, it seems we’ll have a way to measure the summer happy talk. If we hear the players reacting positively to the way offseason conditioning comes off, their bodies won’t be able to lie about it.

Lorenzo Carter confirms that Les Miles on the recruiting trail isn’t like everyone else.

What’s your funniest story from recruiting? “Probably Les Miles talking about girls. Girl talk with Les Miles was kind of awkward because you don’t think of him as a ladies man. But he seems like he knows what he’s talking about.

What girl advice did Les Miles give you? “’Don’t be rude when they call late at night.’ So I was like ‘OK, I won’t be rude. I just won’t pick up the phone.’”

Kind of awkward, eh?

Hey, it almost worked. Carter claims he had LSU as his number one right up until signing day.

Quote Of The Day

“It brings back a great Bulldog running back in Thomas who has NFL playing experience and has had success as a college coach at multiple schools. He also inherits a position that has been built to an elite level by Bryan. And it gives Bryan the opportunity to return to coaching the position he played and the one where he cut his teeth serving as a graduate assistant under wide receiver coach John Eason here at UGA. It also provides him with a new experience as a passing game coordinator.” -- Mark Richt, AB-H, 2/16/15